Legislative and Cultural Shift Examples from NSW
By Niall Johnston
Department of Environment and Conservation
New South Wales, Australia
10 November 2006

• Thousands of existing contaminated industrial and commercial sites
• Potential to impact on public and environmental health
• Expensive to remediate
• What can we do to minimise new contamination?

Site contamination imposes many costs on society not just those associated with impacts on public and environmental health but also those due to the increased costs from investigation, remediation and development. The additional financial impost on private individuals and governments means that funds are redirected from other investment opportunities. Due to the historical nature of contamination apportioning responsibility is often difficult resulting in expensive legal debate. Therefore we have a responsibility to ensure that the current generation is not repeating mistakes and leaving new legacies for future generations.

This seminar explores how societies can prevent the formation of these costly problems and more sustainably protect and enhance the quality of their environment. Examples of how regulatory mechanisms and changing attitudes can be used to achieve this goal will be provided. Examples from Australia of how these legacies impact will be provided along with some of the approaches to resolve them.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Niall Johnston is currently the Manager of the Contaminated Sites group of the Department of Environment and Conservation in NSW Australia. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Biology from Southampton University in the UK and obtained a M.Sc. in Environmental Toxicology from the University of Technology Sydney via research into the applicability of OECD protocols to Australian aquatic conditions. He has over 20 years experience in environmental management in consultancy and government in areas as diverse as catchment management, potable water supply, chemical assessment, regulation of the petrochemical industry and now oversees the cleanup of site contamination in NSW for the State government. He has strong links with the Asia-Pacific region and is a regular visitor to Singapore and the region. Recently he has been involved in a training program of the Singapore Environment Institute for stakeholders involved in site contamination issues.

Last updated on 25 Jun 08

ENQUIRIES:
Please call 67319208 or email nea_seicustomer@nea.gov.sg